If you are in the process of refinancing your home mortgage loan, finding the best lender and the lowest refinancing mortgage rate can be an intimidating process. Did you know that the rate quotes you receive when shopping for a new loan all include commission based markup? Homeowners who learn to recognize this unnecessary markup of their mortgage rate can save thousands of dollars on their mortgage every year. Here are several tips to help you get the best refinancing mortgage rate for your next home loan.

Why Are Mortgage Rates Marked Up?

The mortgage company or broker arranging your loan charges you an origination fee for their part in setting up your mortgage. On top of this fee the lender pays them a commission for locking and closing loans with above market mortgage rates. This fee paid by the lender is called Yield Spread Premium. Learn how to avoid it and you can save thousands of dollars every year you have a mortgage loan.

The Basics of Yield Spread Premium

To illustrate the commission based markup known as Yield Spread Premium here is one example. You need to borrow $250,000 to refinance your existing home loan and the broker agrees to charge you a one percent fee. You close with a 6.75% mortgage rate and pay $2,500 to the broker for loan origination. What you don’t know is that the lender actually approved you at 6.0% and the broker marked it up for the commission. In this example the lender pays your broker a $7500 bonus for overcharging you on top of the $2,500 you’ll pay at closing.

Yield Spread Premium Raises Your Monthly Payments

You might say .75 percent isn’t that much, what’s the big deal? In the previous example if you refinance with the 6.0 percent rate that you deserve your monthly payment on a 30 year mortgage would be $1,498 per month. If you agree to a 6.75 percent mortgage rate your monthly payment balloons to $1,621 per month! That’s $1,476 you’ll pay unnecessarily every year because your mortgage broker lied to you.

Refinancing Your Home Without Yield Spread Premium

If you learn how to recognize this unnecessary markup of your mortgage interest rate you’ll save thousands of dollars every year on every mortgage you have. You can refinance your home loan paying the broker a one percent fee with a wholesale mortgage rate. You can learn more about refinancing with a wholesale rate without paying lender junk fees.

Most people agree that when it comes to your iPod the Bose sound dock is the best set of speakers you can find. The only downside of the first iPod soundock is that it has an enormous power supply and A/C cord that limits its use as portable speakers. The new sound dock portable from Bose solves this problem. Its portable speaker system has all of the power and sound quality you’d expect from Bose and it’s portable. This great portable sound and the Bose name comes at a high price…if you pay retail for the speakers you’ll have to fork over $399.

You have a choice of two colors with the sound dock portable: black and glossy white. The portable unit is small enough to travel with easily and measures 12 by 6 by 5 inches. It weighs just over five pounds and looks very similar to its cousin the original sound dock except for its swiveling iPod dock that protects the dock when traveling with the unit.

The portable soundock has the same simplistic design as the first sound dock. There are no physical controls aside from volume up and down. There is a small remote control included that operates the volume, playlists, playback control, and power on and off. This remote is small but has rubber buttons that make it easy to use and operate as long as you don’t misplace it. The remote works well enough and I was able to control my iPod from nearly any angle in the room.

On the back of the soundock you’ll find only two connectors. There are no USB ports or video connections, only a power connector and analog input. The sound dock is powered by a lithium batter pack that gets you about 8 hours of normal use or 3 hours at the highest volume setting. As lithium-ion batteries go this is pretty good considering the quality of sound and Bass response you get from the speakers.

The only flaw I can find in the speaker’s design is the sensitivity of the volume controls; however, the included remote functions well enough. The sound dock charges your iPod whenever plugged in; charging the iPod will deplete the soundock’s batteries at a much faster rate. The bass port on the back of the speakers also functions as carrying handle. Bose calls it the unit’s Wave Guide Exit.

Bose hid an LED light behind the speaker grill that flashes when you use the included remote control and flashes to let you know when the battery needs charging. If you forget to charge the unit for fourteen days the only way to turn it on again is by plugging the charger in…this feature probably generates a lot of support calls for Bose. There are no dock inserts included in the box. If you lost the inserts that came with your iPod you can buy replacements from your local Apple store. The sound dock has a power cord winder that makes it easy travel with your speakers; however, the plug is a tad large and bulky. With it’s $399 retail price tag the soundock portable is a tad expensive; however, you can find better prices shopping online with free shipping. There is an optional carrying case for the portable sound dock but you’ll have to shell out sixty dollars more if you want one.

If you’re considering refinancing your Florida mortgage loan and want the lowest possible rate there are several things you need to know about mortgage rate quotes. The quotes you find when comparison shopping all include commission based markup of the rate that raises your mortgage payment by hundreds of dollars. Here are the basics you need to know in order to avoid this unnecessary markup when refinancing your home.

Beware Yield Spread Premium

When your mortgage broker locks and closes your home loan with higher than market interest rates the spread created is called Yield Spread Premium. The broker inflates your mortgage rate to get this commission from the lender at your expense.

Yield Spread Premium in a Typical Mortgage Loan

Suppose you’re refinancing your home loan for $350,000 with a mortgage rate of 6.5%. The broker charges you a 1% fee for arranging you loan meaning you’ll have to pay this person $3500 at closing. What your broker isn’t telling you is that you actually qualified for a 6.0% mortgage rate and they’ve marked it up because the lender is paying them 2% or $7000 for overcharging you. You get stuck with a higher than market mortgage rate meaning you’ll pay thousands of dollars in finance charges unnecessarily.

How Does This Cost You Money?

If you choose a fixed rate loan with a term length of 30 years at 6.5 percent your monthly payment will be $2,200. The same mortgage with a 6% rate would have a payment of only $2,090. Falling for this mortgage broker trick will cost you $1,320 every year you keep this loan; all because your broker lied to you!

It is possible for homeowners who understand Yield Spread Premium to avoid this unnecessary markup and refinance with a wholesale mortgage rate. When you do this it is only necessary to pay a one percent origination fee to the broker. You can do this for yourself by investing a few hours doing your homework and can save yourself thousands of dollars in the process.